Moving Wall offers local chance to reflect on Vietnam

DOVER — “The Wall that Heals” exhibit is coming to Dover in a few days.

The centerpiece is the half-sized replica of the Vietnam Wall in Washington.

“I really treasure that wall because some of those guys I knew, but most importantly we because we can pay our respects and remembrance for those that gave our country everything they had,” said Paul Davis, president of the Delaware State Council of the Vietnam Veterans of America.

“For me, it’s a very personal thing,” he said, “because I consider myself blessed having come back alive and with no issues. It’s a reminder to me that we’ll always remember those that were killed in Vietnam.”

There will be an opening ceremony at 10 a.m. Thursday and the Wall will remain in place through Saturday.

For Mr. Davis, an Army veteran, there also is an educational component that is important.

“We should always be aware of the legacy of the Vietnam War so that future generations will have a better understanding of the war and the sacrifices that were made,” he said.

After Thursday’s opening ceremonies, Dover Mayor Robin Christiansen will begin reading the names of those who died in the war.

In shifts, volunteers will read all 58,286 names.

Among them are 28 Kent Countians.

More than 160 Delawareans died in the war.

The Wall registry lists the home of record for the casualties, so some may not appear under Delaware when doing the research. Officially, a search will turn up 122 Delawareans. Their names, along with their place on the Wall, are listed below.

Volunteers are still needed for the reading of names. Contact Sherri Taylor, of the Delaware Commission of Veterans Affairs, at (302) 257-3117 or sherri.taylor@state.de.us to sign up.

***

On Tuesday afternoon, the “Wall the Heals” hauler will arrive at the Kent County Veterans Memorial Park on South Little Creek Road in Dover with an escort of police and veterans on motorcycles.

Representatives of the Commission of Veterans Affairs and Kent County Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 850, who partnered to bring the Wall back to Dover for the first time since 1998, will greet the crew. Volunteers from Dover Air Force Base and local veterans groups will assist in setting up the display.

The traveling Wall is approximately 250 feet in length, and like the original memorial, is erected in a chevron shape. The replica is constructed of powder-coated aluminum, supported by an aluminum frame.

The names are listed in order of the casualty. The names start on the East Wall (right-hand side) working their way out to the end of that wing, picking up again at the far end of the West Wall (left-hand side) and working their way back in to the center/apex, joining the beginning and end of the conflict at the center.

“We try to replicate the experience as best we can to the Wall here in Washington,” said Heidi Zimmerman, communications manager for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund.

The pencil “rubbing” of names is not allowed on the traveling wall. But those who want such a keepsake can ask for a copy at the Education Center at the exhibit hauler.

There is no cost to view the exhibits, which will include an educational display. Among the collection for the public to see are items that have been left behind in honor or memory. Poems, hats, stuffed animals, medals and more have been left over the years.

As part of the agreement to bring the Wall to Delaware, there has to be a local place to house any items left here.

The items left in 1998 are on display at the Delaware Commission of Veterans Affairs.

Once open to the public, it will be open to visitors 24 hours. Bennett Security, along with volunteers, will be present overnight.

“A lot of veterans like to come in the middle of the night when no one else is around,” said Ms. Zimmerman. “and have a moment of peace with it.”

***

An effort is underway to collect photographs of all of the Delawareans killed in the Vietnam War.

Ms. Zimmerman said Delaware still lacks 49 of the 122 on the list.

“There’s 122 on the wall from Delaware and we’re still missing 49 pictures,” she said.

Some, including those of Donald R. Bailey and James H. Johnson Jr., from Kent County, are already submitted.

The photos will be on display in the Wall of Faces online and in the planned Education Center at The Wall, which will be on the National Mall, across the street from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial, in a few years.

Ms. Zimmerman said the photos do not need to be of the service members in uniforms.

“What’s interesting to me is that some people send in their military photos, but we’ve got high school graduation photos and we always say that we like photos that show personality,” she said.

“If you go to our Wall of Faces (www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/) and you do an advance search that shows all of Delaware, the first one that comes up is a Bethany Beach lifeguard on the beach. That really shows personality and it really shows the area.”

The lifeguard she mentions is Thomas Adams of Selbyville.

Photos can be uploaded to the site.

If a Delaware family or friends of the fallen have photos, they could be brought to the “Wall that Heals” exhibit where they could be scanned.

Locally, VVA Kent County Chapter 850 member Ray Harris has been leading an effort to collect the Delaware photos.

He can be reached at devvachap850@gmail.com.

Below, note that the names with asterisks are the Delawareans whose photos have not yet been posted by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund.

So far, only six states have completed their lists of photos.

Delawareans on the Wall

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund seeks photographs of all the war’s casualties to appear in the Wall of Faces online and in the planned Education Center at the Wall in Washington. The names with asterisks represent Delawareans whose photos are needed.

The names shown are the 122 men, credited to Delaware by the Department of Defense, are on the Wall.

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